New Optical Technology Keeps Endoscopes Slim Even With Additional Features

Visualization capacity of modern clinical endoscopes are still limited. Some areas inside the body is still unreachable to the machine.

Some endoscopes come with additional features such as zooming and auto-focus, but the extra necessary components are making them bulkier.

Now scientists at the National University of Singapore have developed a new approach for making adjustable lenses that can maintain the machine's slim profile.

According to the scientists, the new approach relies on two round polymer pieces. Two of them aligned fit like a Yin-Yang and let light through working like one block. The curving shapes of the optical polymer components work together to change the focal length of the system when the two pieces are moved laterally.

Scientists add that the entire device can fit inside the tip of an endoscope.

The device can perform focus adjustment to the desired level of most of the clinical test. However, the scientist team is planing to work on the integration more components to add a powerful zoom. The findings published in journal Optics Express.



Source: Medindia